Dear Davis,

You are five now, and like you said, "five is a bery special number", but for me, this birthday in particular is a reminder of how fast five years can fly by.

It seems like just yesterday I was rocking your little 7 pound body in the middle of the night singing you Jesus Loves Me as I struggled to keep my eyes open. And now I can't even make it through the second verse of the Pillow Pets song, without you telling me to stop because I don't have a good voice.

It's a Pillow!
It's a Pet!
It's a Pillow Pet!

I know my voice is no Justin Bieber, but it's a catchy tune, I should be allowed to sing it on occasion.

This year you have started at a new school away from my work. That was definitely more of an adjustment for me than it was for you. Besides the prime parking spot that I gave up when you changed schools, I miss being no more than 100 yards away from you at any point during the day.

But you? You didn't skip a beat. Within weeks you had wooed your new teachers by flashing what I thought was our special I LOVE YOU symbol at anyone you crossed paths with. You give out hugs and kisses and I LOVE YOU'S like it's going out of style. And of course it works like a charm. People are usually willing to overlook the temper tantrums when you say with a half grin, "you're the BEST teacher EVER."

You love to brag about being in your PRE-K TWO class because that class is made up of the oldest kids...the ones like you, who missed the cutoff for kindergarten by only a couple of months. That's not to say that you don't still miss some of your friends that did go to Kindergarten this year. You still occasionally include Piper and Bwook in your nightly prayers because you think the reason that they have been gone for two months is because they are on some sort of extended sick leave.

And like the last time I wrote you a letter, you still find the most joy in being angelic when your brother is getting in trouble. And when I say angelic, I mean OVER-THE-TOP-SLURPY-SWEET!

I can't think of the last time Hayden was punished that you weren't standing five feet behind the punisher saying, "You are the BEST mom/dad EVER! I will do whatever you say on the first time." This of course throws your brother into even more of a tizzy. At that point, he will usually do something to get in even more trouble...which means you will do something to outshine him like let the dog outside and point out the fact that NO ONE EVEN ASKED YOU TO DO IT.

And in excel terms, it becomes a circular reference.

That's not to say you don't get your fair share of time outs and spankings, because oh you do! Just this morning you lost your DS privilege for a week after throwing a temper tantrum when your Dad nor I would change out your game at 5:45 a.m.. If only kids had a snooze button, son. Life would be so much simpler. 

The interesting part about you though...just as much as you love holding the title of class favorite, you also love the satisfaction of getting under people's skin. And unfortunately, Hayden makes it fairly easy for you to do so. Every morning you refuse to answer what you want for breakfast until your brother has first answered so that you can copy him. And every morning, it works like a charm. Hayden makes it so easy on you, because no matter how much counseling** we give him, he of course doesn't listen and you take great satisfaction in seeing him get worked up, as you two concurrently eat your Brown Sugar Poptarts. If he wanted to eat fried worms in the morning, you'd order fried worms too as long as it meant watching Hayden huff and puff for a few minutes.

** Hayden's Morning Counseling Sessions: Act like it is SOOOO cool that you both want the same thing, Hayden!  ~~~  Imitation is a form of Flattery!

Of course I am making it seem like it is all fighting between the two of you. That's definitely not the case. It is more of a 70/30 ratio.

70% Best Buds
30% "Fine! Then I am not your Best Friend!"

But those 70% moments are so fun to watch. You guys have such a special bond that I think will follow you through adult hood. I love to peek in on you guys playing when you don't know anyone is watching. That is when you play the best. Watching you follow Hayden's directions as he gives you the play by play of how you are going to pretend. He usually gives you about a minute of instructions and then you reenact them and wait for your next instructions. It is such a give and take between the two of you. It's obvious that you look up to him and so much of what you do is to impress him. I just hope and pray that Blake will find his special bond with you both.

You still love to talk. It seems you talk to hear yourself talking. Some might think I am exaggerating until they spend about five minutes with you. I think I must have wished one too many times for a boy that really shares his feelings, because oh my, do you! I really don't need to set up an special one-on-one talks with you because you rarely stop talking between 5 p.m. and your bed time. From the car ride home, to the dinner table, to the shower, it's GUESS WHAT? YOU KNOW WHAT? MOM? MOM? DAD? And if you happen to run out of things to say you just make up your own language and start rehashing your day in that language.

I love you more than words can describe. More than you will ever know by reading these letters. In fact, you won't know until you have kids of your own. I love your laugh. Your ability to talk to anyone. Your smile. Your incessant talking. Your big blue eyes. Your interactions in Sunday School. Your desire to learn.

I! LOVE! YOU!
Love,

Mom